The Detective Fiction Genre
Detective Fiction of the kind we will read shares some of the folklore roots of the oral narrative (African tradition) and of traditional storytelling. Classical (country genteel) and hardboiled fiction offer the two types of style and context most commonly associated with detective stories. In this unit, students will focus on the hard-boiled style of writing, as that is often the favored by African-American crime writers.
Hard-boiled is distinguished by a tough portrayal of crime and violence and is normally politically radical. It sometimes shows the corruption of some type of social order, no matter the social status of the people/community that it portrays. The hardboiled detective, as seen in all the cited authors' works, is there not only to solve mysteries of violence; he or she confronts danger and engages in some of that same violence on a regular basis. The hardboiled detective has a characteristically tough attitude. However, the detective sometimes is seen as having a personality split, one side being necessary to solve crimes, the other qualifying them to be full-fledged upstanding members of their community. This double-sidedness makes it tricky to identify the exact moral quality of the character.
There are distinctive conventions of plot, character and scenic development that are specific to the genre. These include: analytical reasoning, in that the detective is an observer of details that help to define setting, character and motive. The story has a narrative approach, frequently told in the first person or from the viewpoint of a close friend or associate of the detective. The detective usually has some conflict with the police and is normally not a part of the police, who either have difficulty in solving the crime or case or are too corrupt to want to do so. The setting is primarily an urban scene. The detective work happens in the city and/or comes from the city. The setting of the city contributes many important elements to the story in terms of motive and mystery. Most times, plot development is seen as the main structural device over character development. Finally, there is a worldview evident in the detective character, one that plays a role in his/her solution of the case. For example: a detective may believe that the rich are corrupt and selfish, and sure enough, a rich person turns out to have committed the crime.
The cultural heritage of the African-American detective, outside of his/her pursuit for truth, is collectively complex. Students will have to be guided in learning to look for particular character traits of the detective through careful observation of vernacular use in the story. For this unit, I will use the term vernacular not only for language patterns but also for patterns of behavior that are only brought into being in the African-American tradition of urban survival. African American fiction differs greatly from mainstream detective fiction in worldview, as exemplified in the beliefs of its characters. This worldview can also be experienced through the dialogue of those surrounding the detective.
The hard-boiled detective is a paid professional who gets more personally involved in the case than his classical detective counterpart. In order for students to notice this difference, they will read or view a short Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle. Students will notice differences of character in the African-American detective. This detective knows what it means to be Black in America and that means decoding a complexity of African-American and White cultural signs. This type of detective uses violence and logic to solve cases. African-American detective characters are intimately connected to their surroundings and family relations, and are deeply committed to exploring the meaning of Blackness in the story, unlike their White American counterpart.
Students will have a constructed rap session about the meaning of "Blackness" presented in great depth while reading assigned stories. While in groups of four to five students, they will discuss the roots of Blackness and then will present their findings in a TV panel forum style. Corresponding questions driving this assignment will be: What does it mean to be Black in America? Does race affect the perception of your depth as an individual? Does your Blackness equate with who you are? How does being Black help or hinder you in the criminal justice system? Does being Black make you a believable witness to a crime? Does your color/race define who you are? Does that same definition apply to the person you will become? Do you feel you are related to African ancestry? Are you prejudiced based on color? Why or why not?
Students will find the African-American detective to be complex, multi-talented, and possessing a social consciousness. Early writers of the African-American detective genre transformed the formulas of the genteel and private eye tradition into a form that allows for deeper insight into Black cultural identity through the writer's views on crime, its consequences, and detection. These early authors used action and violence to communicate a social message: issues of nationalism, politics, race pride, the inevitability of urban violence and Afrocentrism. Therefore, students will have to become involved in their own perspectives on what it means to be Black as they learn to decode the characteristics of the authors' detective(s).
Students will learn and be able to use the term "red herring" while analyzing plot development elements. A red herring is used as a metaphor for a misleading clue to the crime. In some detective novels, information and/or additional characters may be provided which are not necessary in solving the crime. Red herrings are frequently used in hard-boiled mysteries and films. An example of a red herring is a character who is presented to make the reader/viewer believe they are the perpetrator, when in reality it is someone far less suspicious seeming. Students will become accustomed to detecting the clever insertion of this information or character(s).
Students will respond positively to the urban territories represented in the writings of the authors chosen for this unit. Location is used to organize details in detective fiction writing. Students will be encouraged to map out the necessary details of the crime/case in order to make sense of character movement. The authors use locations that will easily enable students to have a sense of being in the middle of the action. They will be drawn to the many similarities to their own surroundings, both city and southern country style.
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